In Defence of Animals Aug 2007

New Mexico Supreme Court to Review Cruelty Ruling on Chimpanzee Lab

IDA hopes justice will prevail in the charges against lab for deaths of chimpanzees

IDA is applauding New Mexico Attorney General Gary King for asking the state's highest court to review the decision by the Court of Appeals that upheld the dismissal of historic criminal animal cruelty charges filed against National Institutes of Health contractor Charles River Laboratories.

Last week, the Supreme Court agreed to review the Appeals Court ruling.

In September 2004, Otero County, N.M. District Attorney Scot Key filed unprecedented multiple counts of criminal animal cruelty against Charles River Laboratories for allegedly abandoning or failing to provide necessary sustenance to the critically ill or injured chimpanzees Rex, Ashley, and Topsy. Rex and Ashley died, and Topsy almost died. The D.A.'s criminal investigation found that it was "standard practice" for Charles River to have trained animal care staff leave at the end of the workday and to have completely untrained security guards monitor the chimpanzees from a distance no matter how critically ill or injured they were.

In June, the Court of Appeals ruling found that this "standard practice" was a "manner or method of treatment" constituting the practice of veterinary medicine. The cruelty statute in New Mexico exempts the practice of veterinary medicine from criminal prosecution.

This ruling also states that no matter how "negligent, or even deliberately neglectful," Charles River's conduct was, it is exempt from prosecution. Further, it found that the New Mexico Legislature expressly intended to exempt from prosecution veterinarians who deliberately abandon or fail to provide necessary sustenance to animals under their care.

"As a veterinarian who has devoted my life to fighting animal cruelty, I am insulted that the Court of Appeals ruled that a financially-driven company policy of leaving sick and dying chimpanzees in the 'care' of untrained security guards constituted the practice of veterinary medicine," said Elliot M. Katz, DVM, IDA President. "I am so very pleased that the New Mexico Supreme Court will hear the case and hope that justice will prevail."

IDA provided D.A. Scot Key with whistleblower information which his office independently corroborated before filing the historic criminal cruelty charges against Charles River. Additional information on the case can be found at www.NIHchimpcruelty.com.